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Top 10 must have free Android apps part two plus the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, AKA the PlayStation phone
#17 | 5:42 |
Wednesday June 15, 2011
Android Weekly
Wednesday June 15, 2011
This week, we're closing out our list of
top ten free Android apps
that are real must-haves for Android users. Check out review the Xperia Play, AKA the PlayStation phone from Sony EricssonDownload this episode now
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iTunes Show Notes
Number 5: ShopSavvy
Free
Throughout our top ten Android apps, we're putting QR codes over my right shoulder. Grab this app through manual means and you can grab the rest automagically.
You can scan just about any barcode; standard or 2D. You can get a price on a book, game or DVD, you can get quick links to URLs or directly to the Android Market.
ShopSavvy isn't the only game in town, but it quickly and reliably scans just about any barcode. Strange that more barcode scanners don't get this very basic thing right.
Number four: Where's My Droid
Free / $0.99 (donation)
Where's My Droid is one of the first apps you should grab from the Android Market when you get a new phone. The title is descriptive: it helps you find your Android phone should it go missing. In the app options, you can set whether or not to securely log location data. If you fear a ne'er-do-well has made off with your phone, you can borrow a friend's phone to text yours. Text the watch-word,the default is "FIND," (CORRECTION: The default is "Where's My Droid") and your phone will start ringing, beeping and generally calling attention to itself... even if the phone has been set on silent.
You can also get GPS location data to try to track down the perpetrator. If he or she is bigger than you though, you may want to give some serious thought before levelling accusations of theft.
Number three: SoundHound
Free ad supported or $4.99
If you've ever heard a song in the bar or on the radio and wished you could place the name of the artist and track, you need SoundHound. Unlike Shazam which does a similar thing, you can even sing or hum a few bars and SoundHound will do its best to place it. Generally it succeeds.
Number two: Seesmic
Free
If you're a dedicated Twitter and Facebook user, you're probably looking for a way to combine the two. That's Seesmic. Share the minutae of every day life, complain about how your triple mochachacococacachino was more like double no foam mocrapuchino, or engage in an online discussion on social issues and the day's news. Your choice.
Number one: Google Apps
Free
This is a bit of a cheat as we're talking about a whole suite of apps. Turns out, no one knows how to develop for Android phones quite like Google. Makes sense, I guess.
Google Voice: This service lets you consolidate all your phone numbers into one. You can make and receive calls using Voice instead of using up your wireless minutes and you can keep an email log of your voicemail messages.
Google Listen: Listen lets you subscribe, sort and, well, listen to audio podcasts. If you've got a decent data plan, you can even stream podcasts and archived radio shows on the go.
Google Reader: Reader is the best way to manage your RSS feed subscriptions and pull all your news into one place. You can subscribe to Android Weekly so you always get new episodes as they're released by going to androidweekly.tv/suscribe. Just saying.
Google Chrome 2 Phone: Send big, unruly URLs, map locations or just about anything else you're looking at in your browser in a click with this app and Chrome extension combo.
Review of the Day
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
$100 - $550
If you're a dedicated gamer, this one is aimed squarely at you. The first thing you'll notice is that the PlayStation store is a little anaemic. We were promised a library bursting with original PlayStation titles. Instead, we get Crash Bandicoot. I always hated Crash Bandicoot.
Basically, we're saying don't bother with PlayStation Pocket.
If you want games, grab a classic emulator instead or just avail yourself of the thousands of games in the Android Market. All the ones we've tried support the PlayStation control pad.
As a smartphone, it's on the low end. A 1GHz Snapdragon processor runs the show, along with 512MB of RAM. You won't run into the limitations for a while to come, but when you consider that you could have a dual-core phone with a gig of RAM for about the same price, it may be tough to justify the purchase. This, despite the fact that the game control pad really is great; it's well actuated and feels natural.
You've got a d-pad that actually feels better than the PSP's d-pad plus the X, square, circle and triangle buttons we all know. Add to that the two analog track pads that take the place of analog sticks and it's pretty compelling.
Specs aside though, the biggest thing missing on the Play is an HDMI out. When you consider that the similarly specced Xperia Arc has an HDMI out, it seems absurd that gamers are confined to the relatively small screen at all times.
If you're looking for the best gaming phone, you're looking at the only game in town. If you can wait and if Sony Ericsson decides to continue iterating on the Play, we'd advise waiting it out for something a little more future-proof.
Free
Throughout our top ten Android apps, we're putting QR codes over my right shoulder. Grab this app through manual means and you can grab the rest automagically.
You can scan just about any barcode; standard or 2D. You can get a price on a book, game or DVD, you can get quick links to URLs or directly to the Android Market.
ShopSavvy isn't the only game in town, but it quickly and reliably scans just about any barcode. Strange that more barcode scanners don't get this very basic thing right.
Number four: Where's My Droid
Free / $0.99 (donation)
Where's My Droid is one of the first apps you should grab from the Android Market when you get a new phone. The title is descriptive: it helps you find your Android phone should it go missing. In the app options, you can set whether or not to securely log location data. If you fear a ne'er-do-well has made off with your phone, you can borrow a friend's phone to text yours. Text the watch-word,
You can also get GPS location data to try to track down the perpetrator. If he or she is bigger than you though, you may want to give some serious thought before levelling accusations of theft.
Number three: SoundHound
Free ad supported or $4.99
If you've ever heard a song in the bar or on the radio and wished you could place the name of the artist and track, you need SoundHound. Unlike Shazam which does a similar thing, you can even sing or hum a few bars and SoundHound will do its best to place it. Generally it succeeds.
Number two: Seesmic
Free
If you're a dedicated Twitter and Facebook user, you're probably looking for a way to combine the two. That's Seesmic. Share the minutae of every day life, complain about how your triple mochachacococacachino was more like double no foam mocrapuchino, or engage in an online discussion on social issues and the day's news. Your choice.
Number one: Google Apps
Free
This is a bit of a cheat as we're talking about a whole suite of apps. Turns out, no one knows how to develop for Android phones quite like Google. Makes sense, I guess.
Google Voice: This service lets you consolidate all your phone numbers into one. You can make and receive calls using Voice instead of using up your wireless minutes and you can keep an email log of your voicemail messages.
Google Listen: Listen lets you subscribe, sort and, well, listen to audio podcasts. If you've got a decent data plan, you can even stream podcasts and archived radio shows on the go.
Google Reader: Reader is the best way to manage your RSS feed subscriptions and pull all your news into one place. You can subscribe to Android Weekly so you always get new episodes as they're released by going to androidweekly.tv/suscribe. Just saying.
Google Chrome 2 Phone: Send big, unruly URLs, map locations or just about anything else you're looking at in your browser in a click with this app and Chrome extension combo.
Review of the Day
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play
$100 - $550
If you're a dedicated gamer, this one is aimed squarely at you. The first thing you'll notice is that the PlayStation store is a little anaemic. We were promised a library bursting with original PlayStation titles. Instead, we get Crash Bandicoot. I always hated Crash Bandicoot.
Basically, we're saying don't bother with PlayStation Pocket.
If you want games, grab a classic emulator instead or just avail yourself of the thousands of games in the Android Market. All the ones we've tried support the PlayStation control pad.
As a smartphone, it's on the low end. A 1GHz Snapdragon processor runs the show, along with 512MB of RAM. You won't run into the limitations for a while to come, but when you consider that you could have a dual-core phone with a gig of RAM for about the same price, it may be tough to justify the purchase. This, despite the fact that the game control pad really is great; it's well actuated and feels natural.
You've got a d-pad that actually feels better than the PSP's d-pad plus the X, square, circle and triangle buttons we all know. Add to that the two analog track pads that take the place of analog sticks and it's pretty compelling.
Specs aside though, the biggest thing missing on the Play is an HDMI out. When you consider that the similarly specced Xperia Arc has an HDMI out, it seems absurd that gamers are confined to the relatively small screen at all times.
If you're looking for the best gaming phone, you're looking at the only game in town. If you can wait and if Sony Ericsson decides to continue iterating on the Play, we'd advise waiting it out for something a little more future-proof.
App of the day
City Maps 2Go - Lite iPhone
Offline map app with one free download out of over 3,100 maps.
